My altime favorite fictional character. January 30, 2023

 

Most people have a favorite character in a book, movie, or show, but I don't know many who have a favorite fictional character overall, and I will write about mine. I have said many times J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is my favorite story ever written, but I have to say my favorite character in it, and anywhere else is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. 

When I was fourteen and first read the book, I was enraptured by Aragorn, the first time he appeared at the Prancing Pony, intrigued by the way Tolkien described him, and the way he proved to the hobbits he was on their side, even if Frodo had to be stabbed before they all trusted him. After he reforged Narsil and renamed it Anduriel, they knew there was no better battle companion. As his quest moved on, the more he overcame his fear of being crowned king, and saw he earned that title, but even after his coronation, he acknowledged the hobbits as the heroes they were, stating they bowed to no one. The worst thing he did was make Eowyn think she had a chance with him, when it was clear his one true love was Arwen Undomiel, who forsaken her immortality for him. 

In the movies, Viggo Mortenson portrayed Aragorn, almost to perfection. I say almost because I would have preferred if he was more kingly as in the books, where being crowned was his ultimate goal, which was why he joined the Fellowship. But I do like the way he evolved into a leader as the story progressed. The only other thing is also another personal preference, and I know people are not supposed to care about the order a movie cast is billed, but I would have preferred if Viggo and Sean Astin were billed before Liv Tyler, because Aragorn and Sam were more important characters, and Liv's name probably would have been more appropriate if it came after a featuring, a with, or an and, but there is nothing I can do, so I reedit the movie in my mind knowing nobody else cares. 

You will see in my books that many of the characters have inspiration from Tolkien's characters, and Aragorn is one of the many characters I used as inspiration for Jack Stamper, and so is Frodo Baggins, and you will likely see a comparison to many more Lord of the Rings characters in the Covert Militia campaigns. In its follow up novel, The Primal Realm, I recently introduced a character in the same fashion Tolkien used when Aragorn first appeared at the Prancing Pony, and he rides a chestnut horse named, Trotter, which was one of Aragorn's original nicknames, and there is also a primitive dark age world similar to ours, but first you have to read them.